life - ISLAND HISTORY & HISTORIC BUILDINGS
DISCOVER
THE MILL
FROM THE
INSIDE OUT
Since the early 18th century
Bembridge Windmill, which
is now in the care of the
National Trust, has stood as
a landmark overlooking the
surrounding countryside
and is one of the most
iconic images of the area.
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Before the reclamation of
land from Brading Haven in
1894-97, the sea reached the
foot of the hill and the view
across the water inspired many
artists, including J.M.W. Turner
who, during a sketching tour
of the Island in 1795 began a
watercolour of the windmill.
With the
reclamation of
the land, came
the railway and
a cheaper supply
of flour, meal and
cattle feed. As a
result from 1897
onwards only
cattle feed was produced and the
mill ceased production altogether
after the harvest of 1913 and the
outbreak of the First World War.
Few windmills from the 18th
century remain as many were
destroyed by fire and indeed
Bembridge Windmill is the only
surviving windmill on the Island.
It is a fine example of a ‘‘Cap’
mill which was designed so
that the top could be turned to
face the sails into the wind.
Although no longer working,
the mill still has much of its
original machinery intact
including the eight foot Worm
Wheel made from a single
apple tree trunk. Three or four
times a year the National Trust
custodian and wardens turn the
sweeps (the wooden frames to
which the sails were attached)
to help preserve and maintain
them. The metal is treated with
linseed but the wooden parts
with their smooth, time-worn
surfaces need little attention.
Although now a quiet, tranquil
place it is still possible to gain a
sense of the bustling workplace
of the mill in its heyday when
the movement of the sails, cogs
and machinery, combined with
the voices of the miller and his
lad created a deafening sound!
The countryside is free for
everyone to explore and enjoy but
conserving it is expensive: scrub
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net